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Oil prices would not ease even if production were raised because speculation and taxes are behind the soaring market, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah was quoted as saying in a Kuwaiti newspaper on Tuesday.

The current dip in gold prices is temporary and demand for the precious metal is likely to rise in the medium term, Ronald-Peter Stoferle, international equities analyst at Erste Bank, wrote in a market note Wednesday.

The United Arab Emirates would only increase oil production as part of a decision agreed by all of OPEC, Oil Minister Mohammed al-Hamli said on Wednesday, dashing faint hopes it might follow recent Saudi boosts.

More oil from Saudi Arabia or other OPEC producers would not ease high global oil prices because they are the result of market speculation, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told Reuters on Thursday.

A cash shortage among private-equity firms will slow down overall merger and acquisition activity even more this year, but investors looking for action should keep an eye on consolidation and strategic deals.

Oil prices have pulled back from the century mark, but supply worries could help to keep oil prices near these heights. I’m keeping a close eye on the global hot spots that were major factors in crude surging nearly 60 percent last year--because they could be the catalysts for oil prices to pop or drop in 2008.

Toyota Motor will raise its projected global production to almost 10 million vehicles next year, and could soon outpace U.S. rival General Motors to become the world's largest automaker, a newspaper reported.